Apple Halts Advanced Data Protection for UK Users After Reports of Government Demand for Backdoor Access

Apple products at an Apple Store in Columbia, Md., on June 20, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Apple has stopped providing its highest-level data security protections to new users in the UK after the British government reportedly demanded backdoor access to user data.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed that the iPhone maker will no longer offer the Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature to new users and will eventually disable it for existing users as well.

“We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,” the Apple spokesperson stated.

The ADP feature provides end-to-end encryption for iCloud storage, preventing non-account holders—including governments and hackers—from accessing data such as photos, documents, and notes. Without ADP, certain types of iCloud data will no longer be fully encrypted, making it potentially accessible to third parties with the proper legal authority.

Apple’s decision follows multiple reports—including from The Washington Post and the BBC—stating that the UK Home Office issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple. This legally binding order reportedly compels the company to provide access to encrypted user data under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016—also known as the “snoopers’ charter.”

The UK Home Office declined to confirm or deny the notice, stating: “We do not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”

Apple has not confirmed the existence of the notice. The company didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment by publication time.

UK security services have long opposed end-to-end encryption, saying that it enables criminals, terrorists, and child abusers to evade law enforcement.

In April 2022, then-UK Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries emphasized the government’s intent to hold tech companies accountable.

“We’re entering a new chapter where tech companies are held fully accountable for the content on their platforms,“ she said. ”That they uphold their own promises to their users, to protect people from things like toxic racist and misogynistic abuse, and protect children from cyberbullying and other harmful behaviour.”

An online safety bill introduced in 2023 imposed new requirements on platforms to mitigate illegal activity risks.

Critics of the bill have expressed concern that it would undercut freedom of speech and could drive more people into seeking alternatives on the dark web, a part of the world wide web that requires special browsers to access.

“That is leading people down an even more dangerous path because the dark web, or the grey web, is not controlled by anyone,” Will Geddes, security expert and co-author of “Parent Alert: How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online,” told The Epoch Times in an earlier interview.

“If they want to get Britney’s new album they might find a site there where they can download it for free but they could end up with their computer infected by a Trojan or ransomware or other malware.”

Chris Summers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.